The Seattle Sounders will honor former player Marcus Hahnemann prior to Saturday night’s home match against the Vancouver Whitecaps (7:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, 93.3 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS) as part of the club’s 50th Anniversary celebration.
Born and raised in Kent, Hahnemann went on to become one of the premier U.S. goalkeepers during the late 90’s to mid 2000’s era, playing over 300 matches in England and earning nine caps with the United States Men’s National Team.
While his two breakthrough seasons with the Colorado Rapids ultimately led him to compete with storied English clubs Fulham, Reading, and Wolverhampton, it was the Seattle Sounders that he continues to look back on as the organization that left a significant impact on him.
“It was my hometown team,” said Hahnemann.
A Washington native, Hahnemann has been immersed in the Pacific Northwest soccer scene since his adolescence. Not only did he grow up cheering for the Sounders, but he also left a substantial imprint on the Seattle soccer community through his own game, earning All-King County goalkeeping honors his senior season at Newport High School and going on to compete at the collegiate level at Seattle Pacific University where he finished with 46 shutouts, a 64-9-5 record and a NCAA Division II National Championship title.
From there, he became an even bigger soccer icon in the region, earning his first professional contract in 1994 with the Sounders squad.
“It was a great time for myself,” said Hahnemann. “I was 21 and was able to kind of figure out my role with the team and also having a really good team atmosphere.”
It was a dream come true for Hahnemann, to begin his professional soccer journey at his hometown club. But it was even more special to conclude his 20-year career where it all started, in Seattle surrounded by family and friends.
“It kind of brought my whole career home, just tied it back up,” said Hahnemann.
“Being able to play for the Sounders and then being able to finish with them in MLS is really cool,” he continued. “And when you're playing for your hometown team, you get a chance to get your friends tickets, and your parents can come every week. It's really special for them as well.”
Hahnemann closed out his professional career as one of the most accomplished Americans to ever play abroad. His Sounders tenure started with a 1996 A-League championship and finished in 2014, with the opportunity to retire at the club he once idolized as a kid.
“Where I started my career, and where I was able to finish it, was pretty amazing,” said Hahnemann. “I didn't think that was going to happen.”
Hahnemann still integrates himself with the Sounders and the Seattle soccer scene to this day, working as an analyst for radio broadcasts while developing the next generation of players as the Director of Goalkeeping for local youth club Crossfire FC.
“I feel like I can give back and bring some young kids up, and hopefully they can achieve their dreams,” said Hahnemann. “It’s super rewarding.”
Whether it’s as a fan, a former player, or an analyst, the Sounders have been ingrained within Hahnemann for decades. And that “sense of team” the club instilled in him dating all the way back to 1994 will continue to live through him for years to come.
“When I lump [together] the first [stint], the 90s, and when I finished my career, it actually felt like a team,” said Hahenmann. “From that first Sounders game we had at Memorial Stadium and the trainings we had, and the camaraderie with all the guys on the team, whether they were young and old, we weren’t all the same people, but when we stepped on the field, we knew we were together.”
